Family Move to NC

We moved to North Carolina this weekend!! Like our New Orleans themed U-Haul?!? :) We only had to get a small U-Haul because we only packed mine and Blakes "must haves" for the next 5-6 months. The rest of our furniture and things will be moved by the Army when Ryan leaves Louisiana in January. Ryan was able to take off work to help us move up and get settled. He will fly back to Louisiana on Tuesday. Sigh...I don't want to think about that.

Our trip went pretty well... I guess as well as it could go with two adults, an alomst 6 month old baby, and a dog. Haha! We had to be pretty creative with entertaining Blake - mostly singing and dancing lots. Ryan and I also got pretty great at our pit stop routine. Ryan was a master and getting Maggie out and tied up to use the bathroom and walk around, while I got Blake changed. We are a great team, if I do say so myself.

We broke the 17ish hour trip into 2 days. We drove into Georgia (10 hours) the first day. Then we spent the night in a pet friendly Days Inn. Maggie took the term "pet friendly" literally. She thought that she deserved a whole bed to herself. Can you blame her?!? :) Finally we drove those last 6-7 hours the second day.



It has felt so amazing being home. Ryan and I got Blake and myself settled in my parents house. Maggie is getting aquanted with the other doggies and she already LOVES the huge yards to run around. She even surprised us by taking a swim in the pond. We are all a happy bunch.

Our Tribute to Louisiana

The chapter of our Louisiana life as a family is coming to an end. Although we are all excited to leave Louisiana, we have to admit that we had some great and interesting times here. This is our flashback on our time in Louisiana...

It was our first home together!

Blake was born here!




We had our 1st anniversary here!




Ryan became an NCO here!





I taught at an amazing school here!






We had some great friends!






We played with alligators!






We went to New Orleans!







We discovered Toledo Bend!





Maggie joined us!

Baby, Dog, and a U-Haul

Ryan and I have been planning a HUGE move in our life! So, I guess we should officially share it on our blog. Where do we start??!

Ryan gets out of the Army (Active Duty) around January-ish. We have been thinking for a long long long time about where our family will go and what we will do when that happens. We agreed that we would pursue every opportunity in every direction...and then leave it up to prayer.

One of the opportunities I went after was my old English teaching job in NC. After a very back and forth journey, I landed the job! This was an answer to our prayers! It was the comfort that our family needed for the future. We will have a job and steady income...and be close to one side of the family!The only tricky part to it is that the job starts in August. Obviously I can't be in NC and LA at the same time, so WE decided that I (Along with Blake and Maggie) would go to NC early and prepare things for when Ryan joins us in January-ish.

Yes, it is extremly heartbreaking to think about our family be separated for a few months, but at the same time we know that this is what is best for our family. We are going to be set financially, we have a house that is ready for us to move into, and it has plenty of opportunities for Ryan's next step towards his occupational future.

Yes, it will be hard on all of us, however, we are an Army strong family. We have done long distance before and we will do it again. Although it will be expensive, we will be flying to see each other once a month. It is important for our family to be together when we can. We will still be raising Blake together, no distance will change that. Thank goodness for Skype during the rest of the time!

So, next week Ryan will help Blake and I move to NC! He will get us settled there, living with family. Then he will return to Louisiana to finish up his job here in Louisiana. In the meantime, I will be going back to teaching and Blake will be having a blast with other kids at an amazing sitter - Mrs. Dawn's house. When Ryan joins us for good then we will move into our house at the Pond - right beside where we got married. How perfect is that?!?!

This is just another step in the journey of our forever family. :)

Lost it...

A while ago we shared our story about adopting Maggie. Since Maggie joined our family, we quickly learned that she has MASSIVE separation anxiety. She is the best dog while we are home, but the second we leave she freaks out! We tried leaving her outside, in the house, everything...and she just messes things up or escapes. Eventually we ended up having to get a kennel for her. Go figure...she hates that too. She has broken off a few bars on it and has managed to scoot her cage across the room when we are gone. Sigh...

The teacher in me was contemplating, today, how I could make her enjoy her kennel. I have seen dogs that LOVE their kennel and go lay in it just for fun. I want Maggie to be like that too. So, before Blake and I went on an errand, I thought (at the time it was a good thought) that maybe she just needs to be taught by example. Being trained in differentiated learning, I thought that she just needed to be taught about the kennel in a creative way. Haha.

So, what do I do?! I get in the kennel (yes, crawled in the thing) and start talking to Maggie about how comfy it is and, "Look, here is a toy!" I was looking down the whole time and didn't really notice other surroundings. I would say this went on for a few minutes. I mean, come on...it made sense to me!! Learn by example!!! Well, it was when I looked up and saw Blake and Maggie both looking at me that I realized I had lost it. They both looked so confused. It was as if Blake was saying to Maggie, "Yep, Mom has finally gone nuts." Haha! I all of a sudden got so embarrassed and yet thankful for the fact that Ryan wasn't home to witness this event.

Sigh, as I tucked my tail between my legs (ironically) and got out of the kennel I told the kiddos that we would not tell dad about this. Then I tried to make myself feel better by saying, sometimes you just need a new perspective on life...and boy did I get one.

In the end, it didn't work. Maggie still didn't want to go in her kennel and I was mortified by my failed mission. Please don't judge me... haha.  :)

July 4th

Happy 4th of July! Obviously being an Army family, this holiday has a special place in our heart. We think of this wonderful land that we live in. We think about the freedom that we are so blessed to have. And most importantly, we think about those who have faught and continue to fight for our Country.

Now, after all of that thinking, we also had the traditional fun too! :)

Ryan and I always try to take advantage of Blake's nap times. So, during his morning nap, we went outside in the backyward and played catch. Baseball...the great American sport! It had been a while since each of us had broken out the gloves, so we had lots of fun!

When Blake woke up, we decided to unbox our new icecream maker. It was a birthday gift to Ryan from my Dad and Heather. The wooden barrel was just the right size for little man to fit in. He LOVED it - even crying when I took him out. I guess we will be building lots of forts in the near future.

It was WAY too hot outside to go to the festivals around here, so we played and read books. That is one of Blake's favorite things to do. And of course, his English teacher mom is beaming with pride. :)

Ryan broke out the sparklers when the sun started to go down. Blake wasn't sure what to think about it. He liked looking at the fire but wasn't a fan of the rest. Maybe in a few more years.

There was a concert on post and fireworks, but we decided not to go because of the loud noises and late night. Not the best for a 5 month old. So, we made our own fun! When Blake went to sleep, we pulled the truck around to the back yard and piled pillows and blankets in it. Then we had a picnic and watched neighborhood fireworks. We were even able to see some beautiful stars. Plus it was very romantic ;) ....even with Maggie sitting underneath us the whole time. She isn't a fan of the loud noises! Haha. 

Bromance

This post is a little delayed...I blame the overwhelming amount of pictures! Last week Jake, Ryan's younger brother, came to visit us here in Louisiana! Yay!! As always, we LOVE it when family gets to visit. This was especially a great visit for Ryan. It has been SO long since they have had the chance to have some good "bromance" time. So, here is what it consisted of...

They wrastled alligators...

They served their time on baby duty..

They almost dumped each other in the river...

They posed nicely after small threats by me! :)...

They played in their fort...

They competed at Ladder Toss...

They even went to Texas...

They took over the playground...

They battled in the lake...

And battled more...

Jake also tried to impress the lifeguard. Oww Oww!

They reached for the stars...

And they slung some mud...

And even though he is our little man, Blake was also included in some Uncle Jake Bromance time!

We loved having Jake with us. Sadly, it will probably be a long time until we see him again. He is turning his papers in and will soon be called on his mission. We are so proud of him and can't wait to hear all about his many adventures! We miss you already, Uncle Jake!!

5 Month Old Little Man

Would you just look at that cute little 5 month old face?!?!?

Luckily we don't have to go to a 5 month old doctors visit, so that means no shots this month! YAY!! Instead, we just did the normal playing around the house and a few errands. Woohoo!

His 5 Month update...

• He is rolling over like a pro now! Even in the middle of the night while trying to sleep!
• Speaking of sleep...he still wakes up 2-3 times a night. Sigh.
• He is starting to get a tad of rice cereal in his diet.
• He really enjoys riding in the car now and getting out and about!
• He tries to sit up and can with some help.
• Finally wearing 3-6 months clothes!
• He has some baby hair growing back from all the hair that he lost! Still red!
• He is all about facial expressions. He can't talk but man, his face says it all.
• It's hard to keep him entertained sometimes - he is a busy boy!
• He loves his books and songs. I usually have to sing most of the day just to keep him smiling.
• He is grabbing stuff - including toys, Maggie's ears, and my hair!

Ok, so we decided to try some rice cereal with Blake! You can put it in his bottle but we wanted to get him used to the bowl and spoon - solids are only a month away!! We had the bib out and the camera ready. We assumed that he would get the cereal all over his face and us. Well, he did that but not because of the texture in his mouth. Instead, he just gagged on the spoon!! Everytime it got near his mouth he would make the worst face and stick out his tongue. LOL! Check out the video! We had to take a step backwards and let him play with the spoon to get used to it. We will try again later. Haha!